CHAPTER 10: SACRIFICES
JULY 4,
2380
Picard looked out from the bridge of
the Victory, and saw the incredible scene that lay before him. It was unbelievable, two races locked in
thousands of years of warfare. He stood
there and thought about what Ga'kor had said earlier that his people were ready
to die for one purpose, the good of all. There were only two possible outcomes to this, the final battle. Either the Furies would win, and the
darkness would return, or the Unclean would prevail, and the future would be
saved. He suddenly remembered what day
it was, July 4, Independence Day. Six
hundred years ago, the United States of America cried out in one voice against
oppression. Now, six hundred years
later, the entire galaxy cried out in one voice against annihilation. He turned his view back to the site that lay
before him. Picard decided it was time
to call in the cavalry.
Turning to the officer at tactical,
he said, "Ensign, get me Captain Riker on the Enterprise."
"I sir." Came the reply.
A second later he stared into the
face of William Riker. Riker looked a
lot different than the last time Picard had seen him. His beard had now gotten a little grayer. He took a guess that he looked quiet
different himself. All of them had been
through so much recently, that they're age was starting to show.
Picard looked at his former first
officer, and now captain of the Enterprise. "Will, " Picard asked. "Where
are you?"
"We're on our way, Sir. We're just about to pass by the Mars
perimeter."
"Excellent. Get here as soon as possible." Replied Picard.
"We will, sir. How goes the battle?" asked Riker.
"I'm not sure…." Picard
explained. "But there's one way to find
out."
Picard cut the transmission, and
stared back out to the battle before him. The Fury ships were flipping up and around, blasting their bright blue
phasers toward the Preserver ships. The
Preserver ships kept dodging the weapons fire, flowing in the night. Neither fleet was gaining much ground on the
other.
As Picard watched this, he said to
the helm officer, "Helm, take us in."
"Sir????" the Helmsman replied.
"Engage cloaking device. Prepare to attack. Pattern delta."
"I sir."
The Victory moved silently toward
the Fury fleet, a silent killer. Her
blue phasers tried to tear through the Fury-made hull. The Fury ships tried to locate the Victory,
but their weapons fire couldn't get close.
The Enterprise warped its way toward Earth. She made a slight port turn as she passed
the Mars Perimeter. Captain Riker paced
the bridge of his ship. He didn't think
he would ever get used to that, his ship. Somehow, someway, the Enterprise would always belong to Jean-Luc
Picard.
"Faster…" Riker muttered under his
breath.
"This is as faster as I can go," he
heard Ensign Ro reply back to him.
The Enterprise finally arrived at
her destination, and slowed to impulse power. She swung around to get a full view of the battle. Riker looked in awe at the sight he and his
crew were now beholding. He strained
his eyes to see the Victory. It was
nowhere to be found. Had she already
been destroyed? Then he saw blue
streaks of light that appeared to be coming from nowhere. Of course, she had cloaked. He turned his attention to the Fury fleet,
swooping out of the darkness. There
fleet hardly looked damaged at all. He
decided to check on the Preserver fleet. He looked closely, but could not see the fleet. Wait, there they were, but, no, it could not
be. The Preserver fleet was in shambles. The victors of the great battle long ago had
been defeated, and with them the future would fall into darkness.
He made his decision. "Attack!!!!!!!!!" he ordered.
The Enterprise swept out of the
darkness, and locked on to the lead Fury ship. The blue phasers caught the side of the Fury ship, but didn't put a dent
in it. The Fury ship flipped upside
down, and fired its own phasers. The
blue beams tore at the aft section of the Enterprise, and started pulling it
apart.
"Evasive maneuvers!" called Riker.
"I sir." Came the reply.
"Aft view." Ordered Riker.
The viewscreen shifted to an aft
view of the Enterprise. It showed the
horrible truth that Riker had feared. The entire aft section lie severely disabled. The Fury ship was about to come at them for another pass, but it
stopped just short. Riker soon saw why,
blue phaser blasts appeared to be coming for nowhere. Of course, it was the Victory, Riker thought. The phasers weren't doing much damage to the
Fury ship. It was, however, giving
Riker exactly what he needed, time.
"Helm, get us out of here! Best speed. Engineering, damage report." Ordered Riker.
"I Sir." Came the reply from all
over the bridge.
"Captain, warp drive is
off-line. We have partial impulse
power." Replied Geordi from Engineering.
Data spoke up, "Sir, the shields are
gone. Which means-."
"I know Data, we can't survive another
hit." Explained Riker.
JULY 4,
2380
Ga'kor paced across the linear style
bridge of his ship. He glanced out
toward the viewscreen, but only saw remains, the remains of his fleet, his
people. They had all sacrificed themselves
for the good of all, and now only he and his crew were left. He looked at the screen again. He noticed the Enterprise limping away, but
very slowly, and the whole Fury fleet chasing it. There was only one thing left to do, and he knew exactly what
that was.
Turning to his first officer, he
ordered, "Da'an, prepare to active the Gateway."
"At once Sir." Replied Da'an.
His ship turned toward the Fury
fleet, which were gaining on the Enterprise. His ship started to glow bright blue. Then, as if summoned magically, a magnificent wormhole opened up before
them. The ship moved in closer. Suddenly, it was torn apart in a giant ball
of flames, and thrown into the shadows. The wormhole began to gather strength from the blast, until it
eventually surrounded the entire Fury fleet. As ship after ship disappeared into the shadows, all hell broke
lose.
JULY 4,
2380
Zutegre looked around the bridge of
his command ship, searching for answers about what was happening. One minute the fleet was chasing after the
Enterprise and the next minute they were lost in darkness. He glanced toward the viewscreen, and saw
only darkness around them. There were
no stars anywhere to be seen.
"What happened?" he asked to
everyone on the bridge, expecting someone to answer him.
"Unknown." Came the same reply from
multiple people.
He remembered seeing Ga'kor's ship
directly in front of them. Suddenly he
realized what had happened. Ga'kor had
activated the Gateway. They were now
stuck in the middle of the abyss.
"Emperor, something's happening."
Came a voice from behind him.
He turned to look at the
screen. The abyss seemed to be
collapsing on itself. He watched in
horror as his entire fleet disappeared in seconds.
He said very quietly, "Ah, Ga'kor,
you may have won this battle, but the war is far from over."
An evil smile came across his face,
as he disappeared into nothingness.